Waking up at 6 a.m. for school is a huge task for many students. An even harder challenge is staying awake and having the energy to pay attention in first hour.

For senior Joe Dever, however, the day starts much earlier than 6 a.m.

A typical day for Dever starts at 4:30 a.m.

Dever goes to practice for either diving or swimming at 5 a.m. and gets out at 6:35 to dress and go to his classes.

After school, Dever spends two hours doing his homework before his second swim practice at 4:30 p.m. He works vigorously until 7 p.m.

After Dever’s 14-hour day, he goes home, eats dinner, and goes to bed.

During our interview, my jaw dropped when he listed his schedule so nonchalantly.

It is a busy life for a senior and an even busier life for a swimmer; however, Dever seems to be able to juggle clubs, sports, and school without losing his sanity.

Dever manages to be in swim and dive, DECA, student council, and yearbook all at the same time.

When I asked what his favorite activity was, Dever replied with a straight face, “Swimming, because it’s easy.”

For a split second I thought this guy was crazy; swimming is one of the most physically and mentally demanding sports. But Dever quickly smiled and said, “LOL JK.”

It amazed me when I went to one of the swim practices to find the coaches had them swim without goggles.

They dived off the blocks, swam down to the shallow end, and crawled out of the pool.

As Dever’s teammates lifted themselves out of the pool, red-faced with bloodshot eyes and gasping for air, he quickly made a peace sign for the camera.

I have never met someone who loves the camera as much as Dever.

Every time I tried to take a normal picture of Dever, he would make a funny face, smile, or make peace signs.

However, getting a normal photo of Dever would be pointless. It is not who he is.

Dever is the type of person whom you never see sad, whose smile brightens your day, and whose jokes will make you laugh so hard your stomach will hurt.

I asked Coach Marci Sporman and junior Taylor Stockton what their favorite memory of Dever is, and ironically they had the same exact answer.

“My best memory of Joe would be when he threatened to hit everyone with a pull buoy,” Stockton said. “He’s like ‘Girls, you need to get going,’ because the manager inside of him was making him say those things.”

Perhaps it was not the “manager inside him” but rather his work ethic and perseverance. Dever has proven that he has all these qualities through swim.

Jeff Gilbert, boys’ swim and dive coach, praised Dever for his perseverance.

“I see Joe being very successful in whatever he chooses to do,” Gilbert said. “The thing about Joe is he may not be the most boisterous, the loudest, doesn’t look like he’s pushing, but he never quits, and that’s a quality that will serve him well.”

Swimming is the most dominant thing in Dever’s life. It lets his wonderful personality shine through.

He seems to enjoy every second of his life. Why else would he wake up at 4:30 a.m.?